The moon passes the 'claws' of Libra
Comment Print Me Email to FriendTonight's Sky for Sunday, May 18 2008
Tonight the waxing gibbous moon passes near the two brightest stars in the constellation Libra the Scales. The two have odd-sounding names, at least odd to ears trained to the English language. Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali are derived from Arabic.
But what is really strange are the meanings of these two star names: the Southern Claw and the Northern Claw, respectively. To borrow a phrasing from Emeril Lagasse, I don’t know where you get your scales, but in my part of the world they don’t come with claws.
However, scorpions do have claws, so it should come as no surprise to skywatchers that these two stars were originally part of the constellation next door, Scorpius the Scorpion. The Chaldeans and Greeks knew them as such. But to honor Julius Caesar, the Romans turned these stars and some others into an image of the Emperor holding the scales of justice. Alas, the mighty Caesar eventually fell by the wayside, but the scales remain as our constellation Libra. Interestingly, it is the only constellation of the Zodiac, or Circle of Animals, that is not an animal.
Like most other bright stars visible to the eye, these two are larger and brighter than our sun. They are about 77 and 160 light years away, respectively.
